London riots

Photo: AFPMuhammed Jamil Ather, Karachi, Pakistan

The London riots and looting this weekend were among the worst civil disturbances Britain has seen in a quarter century. Some blamed government spending cuts and tough austerity measures for sowing unrest and weakening police.

However, these riots have no justification at all. An alleged black gangster was fatally shot and these arsonists and criminals, many of them in early teens, without finding out the facts, went on the rampage and brought about huge destructions and anarchy in mostly economically depressed areas.

Riots and looting, some of which police said was just plain criminality, spread to other London suburbs over the weekend. London police officials tripled the number of officers on the ground from Saturday to Sunday night, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh said there would be a third more officers on the ground this evening.

Riots expose many underlying factors. The economic difficulties and austerity measures create economic stagnation, which mostly hurts the lower strata of societies. It also shows grave failure of intelligence agencies. Though CCTV cameras will help apprehend most of these criminals, looters and anarchists, we all know that detection controls do not prevent such costly social disturbances